Prince William returned to royal duties on Wednesday and thanked people for their concern about his father, King Charles, and wife, Kate Middleton.
Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that the king was diagnosed with cancer, while the Princess of Wales is currently recovering from a nearly two-week hospital stay for abdominal surgery.
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On Wednesday night, the royal attended a gala dinner for the London Air Ambulance Charity, where he gave a speech that addressed his father and wife’s health scares.
“Good evening, everyone. Thank you all for being here,” William said at the dinner.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days. It means a great deal to us all.”
“It’s fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather ‘medical’ focus. So I thought I’d come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all,” he quipped.
Later in the speech, William also made sure to thank a special guest ― Tom Cruise ― for attending the event.
“Tom, huge thanks for supporting us tonight,” he said. “And Tom, if you wouldn’t mind not borrowing either of the new helicopters for the next ‘Mission Impossible,’ it would be appreciated. We have all seen on our screens that — how can I put it — you seem to have a different take on ‘normal wear and tear’ to the rest of us. It’s not the kind that buffs out.”
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The state of Charles and Kate’s health has dominated headlines since Jan. 16, when both of their medical concerns were announced.
That day, Kensington Palace shared that Kate had undergone a “planned” operation.
“The surgery was successful, and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for 10 to 14 days, before returning home to continue her recovery,” the palace shared with HuffPost at the time. “Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
Shortly after, Buckingham Palace shared a statement with HuffPost that said the king had “sought treatment for an enlarged prostate” and would undergo a procedure at the hospital the following week.
Charles underwent surgery on Jan. 26 and was discharged from the hospital three days later.
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On Jan. 29, the public was informed that Kate had “returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery” and was “making good progress.”
Kensington Palace has not yet confirmed Kate’s official diagnosis, though it is not thought to be cancer-related. Buckingham Palace has also not specified the kind of cancer Charles has, but it did confirm that it is not prostate cancer.